lines. He managed to make a virtue
out of his scruffiness, and for this reason she thought she could like him
after all. "Somehow we got off on the wrong foot, didn't we, Mr. De Sang?
After all, we both want the same thing."
"We're making progress already." He smiled.
Alex declined to go walking with them on Wigstone Heath. It was a blustery day, and he preferred to curl up on the sofa in front
of the TV, sipping lager from the tin. Maggie festooned the kids with hats and
scarves and took Dot along with them to meet Ash at a prearranged spot. When
they got there, he was sitting in his car alone. His wife, he explained, hadn't
felt well enough to come. Maggie wished she'd left the children with Alex.
Wigstone Heath was a wind-blasted stretch of moorland , dotted with stunted bushes and outcrops of rock
eroded into eerie shapes. A prehistoric stone circle called the Dancing Ladies
commanded the elevated middle of the heath; and at some distance, leaning
slightly into the wind, was a large single standing stone, the Wigstone from which the heath had taken its name. It was
like a solitary broken tooth. They headed for the stone circle.
The wind was as sharp as a scythe. It made Maggie's ears ache. Dot, at
least, seemed to enjoy herself , running ahead and
sniffing the path in front of them. Maggie told Ash about De Sang.
"All he seems to do with Sam is play with him."
"So?"
"Well, I could do that."
"Then why don't you?"
Maggie wondered why she didn't.
The children ran round the stone circle, attempting to leap from one
stone to another. Dot cocked her leg against one ancient megalith.
"What is it?" Amy wanted to know.
"It's a stone circle."
Amy sighed as if her mother was an idiot. "But what's it for?"
"It's a mystery," said Ash. "Sometimes it's more fun when
we don't know the answer. Then it can be anything we want it to be." Amy
looked less than impressed with this. "All right, I'll tell you the
legend. There were these nine ladies. They were dancing naked here one
midsummer night. And a wizard put a spell on them, so that if they were still
dancing when the sun came up they'd be turned to stone. Well, the night was so
short, it took them by surprise. But they were so beautiful the wizard couldn't
take his eyes off the dancing ladies, and he got turned into stone too."
Ash pointed over at the solitary standing stone across the heath. "There
he is."
Amy counted the stones in the
circle. They seemed to confirm Ash's story. She walked over to the single
stone. "She's happier with that explanation/' Maggie said.
"But it subtracts from the mystery, don't you think?"
"I'm sure there's some deep meaning to it."
"Yes," said Ash. "I'm sure there is."
They all sat in Ash's car and ate
sandwiches and had tea from a flask.
"You didn't forget to bring the
diary, did you?" Maggie asked him. It had been on her mind all day.
"No, I didn't forget." He
produced it from the dashboard. "And I've got something to show you."
He flicked open to a page which was blank but for a few herb names written on
the first two lines. "What do you see?"
Maggie took the diary and held it up to
the window. She could see nothing more than what was obvious. She shrugged.
"Watch." He took the book from her and pressed his palm down on the page. After a minute
he took his hand away and half a page of faint pencil writing had appeared,
barely decipherable.
"How?"
"Some trick with the pencil graphite
and chemicals, I suppose. More successful at hiding it on
some pages than on others."
"That explains why I kept finding
stuff on pages I'd already looked at."
"You probably surfaced some of it
just by keeping it in a warm, moist place, or by exposing the pages. You'll
find more in there than you thought."
"Have you read all of it?"
"I haven't had it long enough.
I was about to ask. Though I suppose you'll want it back for
a while now I've showed you that little trick."
"I suppose I will," said
Maggie, already engrossed in the phantom
out of his scruffiness, and for this reason she thought she could like him
after all. "Somehow we got off on the wrong foot, didn't we, Mr. De Sang?
After all, we both want the same thing."
"We're making progress already." He smiled.
Alex declined to go walking with them on Wigstone Heath. It was a blustery day, and he preferred to curl up on the sofa in front
of the TV, sipping lager from the tin. Maggie festooned the kids with hats and
scarves and took Dot along with them to meet Ash at a prearranged spot. When
they got there, he was sitting in his car alone. His wife, he explained, hadn't
felt well enough to come. Maggie wished she'd left the children with Alex.
Wigstone Heath was a wind-blasted stretch of moorland , dotted with stunted bushes and outcrops of rock
eroded into eerie shapes. A prehistoric stone circle called the Dancing Ladies
commanded the elevated middle of the heath; and at some distance, leaning
slightly into the wind, was a large single standing stone, the Wigstone from which the heath had taken its name. It was
like a solitary broken tooth. They headed for the stone circle.
The wind was as sharp as a scythe. It made Maggie's ears ache. Dot, at
least, seemed to enjoy herself , running ahead and
sniffing the path in front of them. Maggie told Ash about De Sang.
"All he seems to do with Sam is play with him."
"So?"
"Well, I could do that."
"Then why don't you?"
Maggie wondered why she didn't.
The children ran round the stone circle, attempting to leap from one
stone to another. Dot cocked her leg against one ancient megalith.
"What is it?" Amy wanted to know.
"It's a stone circle."
Amy sighed as if her mother was an idiot. "But what's it for?"
"It's a mystery," said Ash. "Sometimes it's more fun when
we don't know the answer. Then it can be anything we want it to be." Amy
looked less than impressed with this. "All right, I'll tell you the
legend. There were these nine ladies. They were dancing naked here one
midsummer night. And a wizard put a spell on them, so that if they were still
dancing when the sun came up they'd be turned to stone. Well, the night was so
short, it took them by surprise. But they were so beautiful the wizard couldn't
take his eyes off the dancing ladies, and he got turned into stone too."
Ash pointed over at the solitary standing stone across the heath. "There
he is."
Amy counted the stones in the
circle. They seemed to confirm Ash's story. She walked over to the single
stone. "She's happier with that explanation/' Maggie said.
"But it subtracts from the mystery, don't you think?"
"I'm sure there's some deep meaning to it."
"Yes," said Ash. "I'm sure there is."
They all sat in Ash's car and ate
sandwiches and had tea from a flask.
"You didn't forget to bring the
diary, did you?" Maggie asked him. It had been on her mind all day.
"No, I didn't forget." He
produced it from the dashboard. "And I've got something to show you."
He flicked open to a page which was blank but for a few herb names written on
the first two lines. "What do you see?"
Maggie took the diary and held it up to
the window. She could see nothing more than what was obvious. She shrugged.
"Watch." He took the book from her and pressed his palm down on the page. After a minute
he took his hand away and half a page of faint pencil writing had appeared,
barely decipherable.
"How?"
"Some trick with the pencil graphite
and chemicals, I suppose. More successful at hiding it on
some pages than on others."
"That explains why I kept finding
stuff on pages I'd already looked at."
"You probably surfaced some of it
just by keeping it in a warm, moist place, or by exposing the pages. You'll
find more in there than you thought."
"Have you read all of it?"
"I haven't had it long enough.
I was about to ask. Though I suppose you'll want it back for
a while now I've showed you that little trick."
"I suppose I will," said
Maggie, already engrossed in the phantom
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